The korea review (1901)

Chapter XL

ko-gu-ryu relations with the Sui court.... Ko-gu-ryu suspected.... takes the offensive.... submits.... the Emperor suspicious.... the great Chinese invasion.... Chinese allies .... Ko-gu-ryu’s allies.... Chinese cross the Liao.... go into camp.... naval expedition.... defeated at P'yung-yang routes of the Chinese army.... Ko-gu-ryu spy.... Ko-gu-ryu lures the Chinese on .... pretense of surrender.... Chinese retreat.... terrible slaughter.... Pak-je neutral.... second invasion.... siege of Liao-tung fortress.... Chinese retire.... and give up the contest.... treaty with the T’ang Emperor.... triangular war renewed.... China neutral.... guerilla warfare.... first woman sover¬eign.... Pak-je retrogrades.... attacks Sil-la.... Pak-je,s terrible mistake.... Chinese spy.... rise of Hap So-mun.... the tortoise and the rabbit.... Taoism introduced.... China finally sides with Sil-la.... and announces her program.... preparations for war.... the invasion.... siege of Liao-tung Fortress.... siege of An-si Fortress.... Chinese retire.

We have seen that Ko-gu-ryu did not respond freely to the friendly advances of the Sui power in China. Although a Sui envoy came and conferred investiture upon the king, in 590, yet the relations were not cordial. Something was lacking. A mutual suspicion existed which kept them both on the watch for signs of treachery. But two years later the king did obeisance to the Emperor and was apparently taken [page234] into his good graces. And now the net began to be drawn about Ko-gu-ryu. Her position had always been precarious. She was the largest of the peninsular kingdoms and the nearest to China. She was also nearest to the wild tribes who periodically joined in an attempt to overthrow the Chinese ruling dynasty. So Ko-gu-ryu was always more or less suspected of ulterior designs and she seems to have realised it, for she always sedulously cultivated the good-will of the Emperors, She knew very well that with Sil-la and Pak-je, hereditary enemies, at her back, the day when she fell under the serious suspicion of any strong dynasty in China would be her day of doom. And so it proved in the end. She had now thoroughly alienated the good-will and aroused the suspicions of the Sui Emperor ; Sil-la and Pak-je were in his good graces, and stirring times were at hand. These two rivai powers sent envoys to China urging the Emperor to unite with them in invading Ko-gu-ryu and putting an end to her once for all. To this the Emperor assented. Ko-gu-ryu knew that the fight was on and, being the warlike power that she was, she boldly determined to take the offensive. Draw¬ing on her faithful allies the Mal-gal for 10,000 troops she despatched these, together with her own army to western Liao-tung and across the river Liao, where the town of Yung- ju was attacked and taken. This was her declaration of war. The Emperor in 598 proclaimed the royal title withdrawn from the king of Ko-gu-ryu and an army of 3oo,ooo men was put in motion toward the frontier. At the same time a naval expedition was fitted out. But reverses occurred ； storms by sea and bad management of the commissariat by land rendered the expedition a failure. It opened the eyes of the Ko-gu-ryu king however and he saw that the Emperor was fully determined upon his destruction. He saw but one way to make himself safe and that was by abject submission. He there¬fore hastened to tell the Emperor, "I am a base and worthless subject, vile as ordure," which vas received by the Emperor with considerable complaisancy, and a show of pardon was made ； but it was probably done only to keep Ko-gu-ryu from active preparations until China could equip a much larger army and put it in the field. Pak-je, who did not like to see affairs brought to a halt at this interesting juncture, sent an [page235] envoy to China offering to act as guide， to lead a Chinese army against the foe. When Ko-gu-ryu learned of this her anger knew no bounds and she began to make reprisals upon Pak-je territory.

About this time the Sui Emperor had business in the north. The Tol-gwul tribe needed chastisements When the Chinese forces entered the chief town of the humbled tribe they found a Ko-gu-ryu emissary there. This fed the Emperor's suspicions for it looked as if Ko-gu-ryu were preparing a league of the wild tribes for the purpose of conquest. He therefore sent to Ko-gu-ryu saying "The king should not be afraid of me. Let him come himself and do obeisance. If not, I shall send and destroy him." We may well imagine that this pressing invitation was declined by the king.

The last year of the sixth century witnnessed the com¬pilation of the first great history of Ko-gu-ryu, in 100 volumes. It was named the Yu-geui or "Record of Remembrance."

It took China some years to get ready for the carrying out of her plan, but at last in 612 began one of the mightiest military movements in history, China massed upon the western bank of the Liao River an army of 1,130,000 men. There were forty regiments of cavalry and eighty of infantry. The army was divided into twenty-four battalions, marching with an interval of forty li between each, so that the entire army stretched for 960 li or 320 miles along the road. Eighty li in the rear came the Emperor with his body-guard.

When this enormous army reached the banks of the Liao they beheld on the farther bank the soldiers of Ko-gu-ryu. Nothing can better prove the harihood of the Ko-gu-ryu soldiery than that, when they saw this well-nigh innumerable host approach, they dared to dispute the crossing of the river.

The Chinese army was composed of Chinese regulars and of allies from twenty-four of their dependencies whose names are given as follows. Nu-bang, Chang-jam, Myung-ha, Ka-ma, Kon-an, Nam-so, Yo-dong, Hyun-dot Pu-yu, Nang-nang, Ok-ju, Chum-sun, Ham-ja, Hon-mi, Im-dun, Hu-sung, Che-ha, Tap-don, Suk-sin, Kal-suk, Tong-i, Ta-bang and Yang-p'yung. One would suppose from this long , list that there could be few left to act as allies to Ko-gu-ryu. but when we remember that the Mal-gal group of tribes was by far the [page236] most powerful and warlike of all the northern hordes we will see that Ko-gu-ryu was not without allies. In addition to this, Ko-gu-ryu had two important factors in her favor ; in summer the rains made the greater part of Liao-tung impas¬sable either for advance or retreat, and in winter the severity of the weather rendered military operations next, to impossible. Only two courses were therfore open to and invading army : either it must make a quick dash into Ko-gu-ryu in the spring or autumn and retire before the summer rains or winter storms, or else it must be prepared to go into camp and spend the in¬clement season in an enemy's country，cut off from its base of supplies. It was in the spring that this invasion took place and the Emperor was determined to carry it throught to a finish in spite of summer rains or winter storms.

No sooner had the Chinese army reached the Liao River than the engineers set to work bridging the stream. So en¬ergetically was the work done that in two days a double span was thrown across. There had been a miscalculation how¬ever, for it fell six feet short of reaching the eastern bank, and the Ko-gu-ryu soldiers were there to give them a warm welcome.

The Chinese troops leaped from the unfinished end of the bridge and tried to climb up the steep bank, but were again and again driven back. The eastern bank was not gained until Gen Mak Chul-jang leaped to the shore and mowed a path for his followers with his sword. At this point the Ko- gu-ryu generals Chon Sa-ung and Mang Keutn-ch'a were killed.

When the whole army had effected a crossing the Emper¬or sent 1200 troops to occupy the fortified town of Liao-tung but the Ko-gu-ryu general, Eul-ji Mun-duk, hastened thither and drove back this detachment of Chinese in confusion. The Emperor learned of the retreat and proceeded toward the scene of action. When he came up with the flying detachments of his defeated force he severely reprimanded the generals in charge and chided them for being lazy and afraid of death. But it was now late in June and the rainy season was at hand, so the Emperor with his whole army went into camp at Yuk - hap Fortress a little to the west of the town of Liao-tung, to await the end of the wet season.

He was unwilling however to let all this time pass with¬out any active work ； so he sent a fleet of boats by sea to sail [page237] up the Ta-dong River and attack P'yung-yang. This was under the leadership of Gen. Na Ho-a. Landing his force on the bank of the Ta-dong, sixty li below the city, he enjoyed there a signal victory over a small force which had been sent to head him off. This made the general over-confident and in spite of the protests of his lieutenants he marched on P'yung-yang without an hour's delay. With twenty thousand troops he went straight into the town. the gates being left wide open for him. This was a ruse on'the part of the Ko-gu-ryu forces. A strong body of Ko-gu-ryu troops had hidden in a monastery in Na-gwak Fort on the heights with¬in the city. The Chinese found themselves entrapped and Gen. Na was forced to beat a hasty retreat with what forces he had left, and at last got back to Ha-p'o (harbor) in Liao- tung. What the Emperor said to him is not known but it could not have been flattering.

The rainy season had now come and gone and the main plan of the invasion was ready to be worked out. It was necessary for the Emperor to spread out his force over the country in order to find forage, and so, in approaching the borders of Ko-gu-ryu, it was decided that they should come by several different routes. Gen. U Mun-sul led a detachment by way of Pu-yu, Gen. U Chung-mun by way of Nang-nang, Gen. Hvung Wun-hang by way of Yo-dong, Gen. Sul Se-ung by way of Ok-ju, Gen. Sin Se-ung by way of Hyun-do, Gen. Chang Keun by way of Yang-pyung, Gen. Cho Hyo- ja by way of Kal-suk, Gen. Ch'oe Hong-seung by way of Su- sring, Gen. Wi Mun-seung by way of Cheung-ji. It is said that they all rendezvoused on the western bank of the Yalu River, but if so there must have been great changes in the position of these wild tribes. It is more than probable that like the North American Indians they had moved further and further back from their original lands until they were far be¬yond the Yalu and Tumen rivers.

In the early autumn of 612 the whole army lay just east of the Yalu River.

The king of Ko-gu-ryu sent Gen Eul-ji Muu-duk to the Chinese camp to tender the Emperor a pretense of surrender but in reality to spy out his position and force. When he appeared the Emperor was minded to kill mm on the spot [page238] but thought better of it and, after listening to what he had to say, let him go. Not an hour after he had gotten beyond the Chinese pickets the Emperor changed his mind again, and sent in pursui : of him; but the general had too good a start and made too good use of his time to allow himself to be retaken.

And now appeared one of the disadvantages of being far from one's base of supplies, and in an enemy's country. Some weeks before this each Chinese soldier had been given three bags of rice and told that he must carry them on the march besides his other necessary accoutrements. Death was to the penalty of throwing any of it away. The result was that most of them buried a large part of the rice in their tents and so escaped detection. Now they were short of provisions, while the generals thought their knapsacks were full of rice. The Ko-gu-ryu Gen. Eul-ji Wwho had been in their camp, however， knew about it. He entered upon a geurilla warfare with the object of luring the enemy far into Ko-gu-ryu territory and then cutting them to pieces at leisure. To this end he made a feigned retreat several times each day, thus giving the enemy confidence and blinding them to his own strength. It was decided that a Chinese force of 305,000 men under Gen. U Chung-mun should proceed straight to P'yung-yang. It seemed wholly unnecessary that the whole army of 1,130,000 men should undergo that long march when only a pusillanimous enemy barred the way.

On they came toward the capital without meeting anything but a few skirmishers, until they reached the Sal-su, a stream only thirty li from P'yung-yang. Crossing this the Chinese went into camp for a few days to recover from the fatigue of the rapid march before attacking the town.

At this point Gen. Eul-ji began operations. He wrote a very humble letter sueing for mercy. When the Chinese gen¬eral received this, his course of reasoning must have been something as follows : "My forces are completely exhausted by this long march ; the provisions are almost gone ; I shall find the capital defended by desperate men ; it may be that I shall be handled as roughly as were the forces of Gen. Nil. I will accept this submission and start back in time to reach the Yalu before my provisions are entirely gone. I will thus spare my army and gain the desired end as well." [page239]

Whether this was his course of reasoning or not, sure it is that he accepted the submission tendered him and put his army in motion toward the Yalu. But before his forces had gone a mile they found themselves attacked on all sides at once by an unseen foe which seemed to fill the forests on either side the road. When half the army had gotten across the Sal-su the other half was fiercely attacked and cut to pieces or driven like dumb cattle over the face of the country, where they were butchered at leisure. The retreat became a flight, the flight a rout, and still the Ko-gu-ryu soldiers hung on their flanks like wolves and dragged them down by scores and hundreds. It is said that in a single day and night the fugitive Chinese covered four hunderd and fifty li, and when the remnant of that noble army of 305,000 men that had swept across the Yalu went back across that historic stream it was just 2700 strong. Over 300,000 men had perished along the hill-sides and among the forests of Ko-gu-ryu. The Emperor in anger imprisoned the over-confident Gen, U Chung-mun.

Meanwhile what of Pak-je? She had promised that she would rise and strike Ko-gu-ryu simultaneously with the Emperor, but when the moment, for action came, like the paltroon that she was, she waited to see which side would be most likely to win in the end. When the Chinese fled back to the border in panic Pak-je quietly stacked her arms and said nothing about attacking her neighbor.

Winter was now at hand, or would be before another plan could be perfected and carried out. The army was without provisions. There was nothing left but to retreat. The Chinese army, still a mighty host. moved slowly back across the Liao River and Ko-gu-ryu was left to her own pleasant musings. All that China gained was that portion of Ko-gu- ryu lying west of-the Liao River, which the Emperor erected into three prefectures.

If Ko-gu-ryu flattered herself that her troubles were all over she was wofully mistaken. With the opening of spring the Emperor's determination to humble her was as strong as ever. All the courtiers urged him to give over the attempt They had seen enough of Ko-gu-ryu. The Emperor, however, was firm in his determination, and in the fourth moon another army was launched against the hardy little kingdom  [page240] to the east. It crossed the Liao without opposition but when it arrived at Tong-whang Fortress, near the present Eui-jn, it attempted in vain to take it. The Emperor decided therefore to make a thorough conquest of all the Liao-tung territory and delimit the possessions of Ko-gu-ryu as far as the Yalu River. To this end siege was laid to the Fortress of Liao-tung. After twenty days the town was still intact and the Chinese seemingly as far from victory as ever. Ladders were tried but without effect. A bank of earth was thrownuy as high as the wall of the town, but this too railed. Plat¬forms of timber were erected and rolled up to the wall on trucks of eight wheels each. This seemed to promise success hut just as the attempt was to be made fortune favored Ko-gu-ryu, for news came to the Chinese that an insurrection had arisen in China，headed by Yang Hyun-gam. The tents were hastily struck and the army by forced marches moved rapidly back towards China. At first the Ko-gu-ryu forces thought this was a mere feint but when the truth was known they rushed in pursuit and succeeded in putting several thousands of the Chinese braves hors de combat.

The following year the Emperor wanted to return to the charge but an envoy came from Ko-gu-ryu offering the kin's humble submission. To this the Emporor replied "Then let him come in person and present it." This he would not do.

Four years later the king of Ko-gu-ryu died and his brother Kon-mu assumed control. It was in this same year 618 that the great T'ang dynasty was founded on the ruins of the Sui and the fear of vengeance was lifted from Ko-gu-ryu. She immediately sent an envoy to the T'ang court offering her allegiance. Pak-je and Sil-la were only a year behind her in paying their respects to the new Emperor. As a test of Ko-gu-ryu sincerity, Emperor Kao-tsu demanded that she send back the captives taken during the late war. As the price of peace Ko-gu-ryu complied and sent back 10,000 men. The next year the T’ang Emperor conferred the title of royalty upon all the three kings of the peninsula which, instead of settling the deadly feud between them, simply opened a new and final scene of the fratricidal struggle. To Ko-gu-ryu the Emperor sent books on the Shinto faith, of the introduction of which into Korea we here have the first intimation.

[page241]

THE KOREA REVIEW JUNE

The Image of Gautama.

A CHANT OP THE BUDDHIST MONKS. *

BY Archer Butler Hulbert

The monks form in line and pass before the Inrage of Gautama from left to right chanting as follows.)

In a mountain-hall† on a pale, white night,

I silently take my seat.

To ponder well on the west wind's wail

As it sings aloft over hill and dale

And brings to this retreat The Voice of the Void and the Great Unknown.

To moan with the monks in monotone.

He knows he lies who dares to say

That Karma ‡ cannot be ; For the body of Dharma§, pure and white. Ever lives in the liquid light，

Tho' his form we may not see.

In a thousand rivers there water is

In a thousand fivers a moon.Ⅱ

In a thousand leagues no cloud is seen

* This chant is translated freely from the original.

† The poetic name for a monastery.

‡ The state of sin or. error arising from ignorance

§ The doctrine of Buddhism personified

Ⅱ By reflection [page242]

And the Heavens lie like an endless dream,*

To temple our wind-swept tomb.

On Griddore Peak where vultures fly †

And lustrous, flowers are found,

Full many an occult thing may be.

If the wood comes not can the tortoise see.

Till a thousand years roll round?‡

(They pause and prostrate themselves.)

O Honorable One by the Altar,

O source of the pure, endless Springs, Strengthen our frail lips that falter,

O grant us the Three Blessed Things

The Buddha,

The Dharma,

The Sangha,

The thrice-blest, the Three Precious Things.

(They retire.)

A clear, pure wind § of a measureless source

Blew fair and straight afar.

Had not your heart been proved so sweet

Who would have dared its message keep,

Pyel Ho of Kasyapa?§

In all the forest but one tree stood

New sprung from living soil ;

The buds grew ripe in the wind's caress

* The unclouded heavens, typical of the pure faith of Buddha.

† Gridhakuti, or Vulture Peak, in India, where Mara in the form of a vulture tempted Ananda. Formerly covered with the cells of ascetics.

‡ An immense tortoise that lives in the sea and catches a glimpse of the world only once in a thousand years, and not even then unless it chances to find a piece of wood with a hole in it through which it can insert its head. Failing this, the opportunity is lost for another thousand years. This is a figurative expression referring to the fortunate chance of Buddha`s birth into the world.

§ The one to whom the first Buddha entrusted the faith. The purity of the doctrine is typified as a pure, clear wind.

ⅡReferring to the Buddhist faith which was supposed to have existed before the world was created. [page243]

While glorious blossoms burst to bless

A sin-bound world of toil.

Nor yet what might their color be

Was no mail found to tell ;

For white they were not, yet did lack

The tint of azure and of black ;

Nor man knew whence they fell.

(At their cells the monks chant a stanza of repentance and repeat the

prayer for the Three Blessed Things.)

Sin itself no nature has, *

But follows passion's track.

O starve that passion to its death,

No more to chill the soul's sweet breathy.

No more to draw us back !

O Honorable One who ever hears,

Behold our penitential tears.

See that we prostrate fall.

By mandate swift dispel our fears

O Honorable One who ever hears

Grant us the Three Blessed Things

The Buddha,

The Dharma,

The Sangha.

The thrice-blessed, the Three Precious Things.

(In the morning the procession passes the image from right to left or opposite to the direction of the night before.)

The three worlds swing in an endless arc †

Rebirth, decay and death ;

And a hundred thousand Kalpas‡ fly .

Like a grain of dust across the sky,

While Buddha breathes a breath.

Could one but walk on a mountain top

And there Cha-keut § could meet, Tho' autumn winds blew wild ana bold,

* The tenets of the doctrine were debatable, only the general principles were known.

† More literally the raising and lowering of a well-bucket.

‡ 4,320,000,000 years.

§ One of the seven worthies of the Bamboo Grove. [page244]

And autumn leaves fell sere and old,

What joy in that retreat !

(Prostrating.)

O Honorable One by the Altar

O Source of the pure, endless springs. Strengthen the weak lips that falter,

O grant us the Three Blessed Things. The Bnddha,

The Dharma,

The Sangha. The thrice-blest, the Three Precious Things.

(Rising and marching to the day's meditations.)

As the day grows warm on the south incline,

1 silently take my seat

And ponder well on the south wind`s cry,

As it moans through the crags with a stifled sigh.

With my censer and incense complete.

And our chanting goes forth to the Honorable One

As he sits by the Altar on High,

Striving to break the dark clouds of night,

That worlds may reflect his glorious light,

And Karma be banished for aye. [page245]

Baron von Mollendorff.
Baron P. G. von Mollendorff, whose death occurred at Ningpo, China, on April 20th 1901, was a leading figure in Ko¬rean politics and finance during the dramatic period of Korea's opening to foreign intercourse. There is perhaps no more fitting place to give a resume of the chief events in his career in Korea than in this REVIEW, and the important part he played in the peninsula abundantly warrants more than a single word.

We will remember after that the emeute of 1882， which was a purely military riot, the Japanese retired from Seoul, having been driven from the temporary legation grounds out¬side the West Gate. Several Japanese were killed during this emeute. On the fifth of the seventh moon Count Inouye arriv¬ed in Chemulpo and demanded an indemnity for the lives of these murdered Japanese. The ex-Regent who, after the Queen's flight to the south, was again in power replied that to cover such indemnity it would be necessary to tax all Japanese merchants heavily. This was equivalent to a refusal, and the Japanese envoy immediately withdrew to Japan.

Hardly had he left when a Chinese force 3,000 strong landed at Nam-yang off the town of Su-wun. It can scarcely be doubted that these troops came at the urgent call of the Min faction which had suffered so severely in the emeute, and it was from that hour that the Min party turned unreservedly toward China and gave the latter occasion for beginning that series of encroachments upon Korea's practical independence, which terminated in the China-Japan war. These troops en¬camped in various places in and about Seoul. Then followed the ruse by which the ex Regent was spirited away to China, thus leaving the field quite clear for the Min party to work [page246] out the problem of Korea's opening. It should be borne in mind that this Min party or faction was at this time progress¬ive. It had strongly and successfully com batted the extreme conservatism of the Regent and whatever of progress had been made was through their direct influence. But the necessity of obtaining Chinese military backing turned their progressive tendencies China-ward thus securing their ultimate non-suc¬cess. This is evinced by every move that follows.

Toward the close of 1882 a Foreign Office was established and it at once invited the Chinese to secure an adviser for it. The Chinese complied and P. G. von Mollendorff of the Im¬perial Chinese Customs Service was appointed to come to Korea and establish a customs service and act as adviser to the For¬eign Office. This was the first diplomatic triumph of the Chinese. Von Mollendorff was a man of commanding presence, great affability of manner, and fluency of speech. But above all his other qualifications he was an excellent student of Chinese and could write and speak that language with readiness. Probably this explains best of all his close contact with the Koreans and their unquestioning confidence in him.

He arrived in Korea in the Spring of 1883 accompanied by upward of a score of other Europeans who were to be placed in the leading positions in the Custom's Service.

He was soon installed in his position of Vice President of the Foreign Office receiving the title of Ch'am-p'an, a title of the second grade, only the P'an-su grade being superior to it. He elected to live in purely Korean style. He put his hair up in a top-knot, wore the broad-brimmed Korean hat and the flowing Korean robes and adopted Korean customs even to the details of domestic life. There were those who smiled at this as being extreme but there is no doubt that this together with his knowledge of the Chinese character brought him much nearer to the Koreans than he otherwise could have come. But of course the question arises whether this closeness of contact was essential to the carrying out of the work in hand ; whether, in fact, somewhat more of distance would not have con- duped to a longer lease of power and a greater effectiveness of service. One can but marvel at the amount of work that von Mollendorff assumed from the very first. One would think that the thorough organization of a customs service would have [page247] exhausted the energies of any one man but he not only assumed this work but practically dictated the work of the Foreign Office at a time when that branch of the service was burdened with countless questions of the utmost delicacy, when treaties with foreign powers were still to be drawn up and ratified, when trade regulations, foreign settlements and the strained rela¬tions between Japan and China had all to be kept constantly and strenuously in mind ; and when questions of finance had to be grappled with. The Government needed ten men all as strong as von Mollendorff to help in these multifarious works but it had―one. It was manifestly beyond the power of any man to do all these things and do them well. It is too much to expect any one man to be first-class linguist, diplomat and financier and to be both organizer and executive in all these branches at one and the same time. And the difficulty of his position was greatly increased by the factional strife that was rapidly drawing on toward the crisis of December, 1884.

It was inevitable that one or other of the departments of which he was chief should suffer. The customs suffered from lack of supervision. The receipts were considerable but no accounts were ever rendered to the Government nor were the national revenues swelled from this source. At the same time more serious difficulties arose in connection with the Foreign Office. The various foreign representatives naturally felt some degree of hesitation in dealing with a Foreign Office in which everything was decided by a foreigner appointed by China and presumably working in the interests of that power. In that state of things the British attitude was the logical one, namely the managing of the purely diplomatic matters through the Peking representative. During the initial stages in the evolution of a Foreign Office his services must have been of rare value but that he should continue to dominate the foreign relations of the country was of course impossible. His position was further embarrassed by the fact that two Chinese generals, Wang Suk-ch`ang and Ma Kun-sang, were attachees of the Foreign Office.

The year 1S83 which marked the height of von Mollendorff`s power in Korea witnessed more advance in Korea than any other year either before or after. A glance at the "Chronological Index" published recently shows this con- [page248] clusively. It beheld the organization of the Foreign Office and of the Customs, the ratification of a treaty between Korea and the United States. The Regulations for trade in Liao Tung were drawn up and signed. The Japan-Korean con¬ventions in regard to port limits, fisheries and trade were signed. A Korean Embassy was desptached to the United States.

The Japan Korea convention regarding the Chemulpo Settlement was drawn up and ratified. An English school was started at the instigation of von Mollendorff. The British Korean treaty was drawn up and signed. The German Ko¬rean treaty was signed. An arsenal was erected in Seoul.

These are a few of the things Baron von Mollendorff was doing in addition to his duties as Commissioner of Customs, in which a great many perplexing questions must have been handled owing to the, as yet, unsettled condition of things and the fact that the service had not been gotten into smooth running order.

But, as stated above, the time was soon to come when the Foreign Office must voice Korean sentiment instead of bowing to the will of any one foreigner however capable he may have been. The Foreign Representatives desired to deal more directly with the Korean Government than was possible under these conditions. It is impossible to say exactly what led to his resignation from the vice-presidency of the Foreign Office. It was done in order to test the feeling of the Government in the matter, but his relations with the Government were such as to warrant his belief that the resignation would not be accepted. And in truth if the Government had felt at liberty to follow its own inclinations his services would doubtless have been re¬tained in the Foreign Office, but one can easily see that under the circumstances this could not well be. So His Majesty reluctantly accepted Baron von Mollendorff ’s resignation.

One cannot escape the conviction that had von Mollendorff been able to dissociate himself from his many other forms of work and to devote all his energies to the work of the Foreign Office, and if he had been able to do it in a more impersonal way, rather as adviser than as a virtual dictator, he would have had an opportunity for distinction such as few men have had in the Far East. That his temperament was of such a  [page249] kind as to render this impossible is his misfortune rather than his fault. That he worked hard and faithfully in the Foreign Office cannot be gainsaid.

But he still retained the Chief Commissionership of the customs and here was a field of labor that was worthy of his best powers, but he seems to have been bent upon carrying out many schemes for Korea's development that were outside this field. These were without exception laudable in themselves but were thwarted one after the other either through untoward natural conditions or through the apathy of the Government, which seems to have taken them up rather as fads of the hour than as a settled system of improvement which must be carried through to a successful termina¬tion.

The first these innovations was a school for the training of interpreters. It was a most necessary and most useful in¬stitution and the man selected by von Mollendorff as a head of that school, Pref. T. E. Hallifax, was an efficient and success¬ful teacher. It is much to be regretted that this school was .allowed to disband after von Mollendorff left. But even dur¬ing its brief existence it accomplished a very valuable work for Korea. This school was organized in the summer of 1883 while von Mollendorff was still in the Foreign Office.

In 1884 von Mollendorff elaborated a scheme for the cul- ture of silk on an extensive scale. He sent to Shanghai and engaged the services of A. Maertens, Esq. an expert of ac¬knowledged capacity and long experience. Mr. Maertens came to Korea and went to work with energy, investing con-siderable money of his own in the venture. But like everything else, the plan fell through because of the lukewarmness of Government. There was no intrinsic reason why sericul¬ture should not be carried on in Korea on a large scale and with eminent success, but the Government did not possess the requisite degree of pertinacity, and two years later the whole thing was given up at a sacrifice of many thousands of dollars.

Then again von Mollendorff proposed to magnify the cul¬ture of tobacco in Korea and supply the East with the Korean grown article. For this purpose he obtained the services of a German gentleman, Mr. Kniffler, from Japan who came to [page250] Korea and looked over the ground, but the scheme was aband¬oned before any considerable amount of money had been thrown away upon it.

Mining also occupied the attention of von Mollendorff and it was through him that Dr. Gottsche, a German geologist, came to Korea and travelled extensively through the country in the summer and autumn of 1884. As the subsequent openings of gold and coal mines in the north have demonstrated, there was nothing chimerical about the plan and yet it failed. There was no one to carry it through to a successful issue.

It was about the same time, July 31, that von Mol¬lendorff resigned from the vice presidency of the Foreign Of¬fice, but he seems to have been as ambitious as ever for the industrial development of Korea, for in that same month: Joseph Rosenbaum was called to Korea by von Mollendorff for the purpose of beginning the manufacture of glass from the sand along the Han River. But as it was found that the sand Was not the right kind for glass-making Mr. Rosenbaum was instructed to begin the manufacture of matches. A plant was. secured and a certain amount of work was done. A large number of matches were turned out but as they were without heads the scheme did not succeed as a financial venture and Mr. Rosenbaum retired. This too might well have been made a success had it been carried 0n with determination, for today we see the Japanese reaping a rich harvest in Korea from the match business.

A foreign mint was also determined upon. The currency of the country was to have been transformed and the monetary system rehabilitated. There was need enough of it and there was no intrinsic reason why good coin should not have been, minted. An enormous amount of money was put into it by the Government but as time went on something else arose that caught the fancy of officials that were responsible, and thus the costliest venture that the Goevrnment ever made fell to the ground.

The repeated abandonment of plans for industrial improvement leaves the unpleasant impression that the Korean officials in charge of them were anxious to retire from the re- sponsibility and labor involved in their successful prosecution [page251] as soon as they found out that there was no longer any prob- ability of personal gain to themselves in them. For this von Mollendorff can hardly be held responsible. That he sincere¬ly desired to see Korea progress along industrial lines cannot be doubted bat all the time he was working without the prop¬er or necessary amount of sincere unselfish backing on the part of the Koreans in power.

Meanwhile the Custom`s Service had been performing its function steadily and with a modicum of success. But von Mollendorff had given so much time and energy to other mat¬ters that the best results had not been attained. Still the Government reposed fall confidence in its adviser, as is shown be the fact that when in April 1885 Port Hamilton was occupied by the British, von Mollendorff was asked to accompany a commission to Port Hamilton and to Japan for the purpose of helping to a speedy settlement of the ques¬tion.

This is a fitting place to set straight one misapprehension which was to some extent prejudicial to the reputation of Bar¬on von Mollendorff. The Koreans got the notion that he was working in the interests of Russia. Such a report, however unfounded, could not but prove detrimental to his influence among Koreans, It may or may not be true that he considered it wise to have the matter of army reorganization put in Russian hands. But even if true it does not follow that he was not attempting to work solely in the interests of Korea. The army needed reorganization and under any circumstances the work must be done by foreigners. Von Mollendorff`s connection with China made it impossible for Him to propose that the matter be left to the Japanese. It could not be ex¬pected that he would propose that it be done by the English. China could not be depended upon for this work, for she was herself in need of military tutelage. That he should have preferred to let Russia do it is not a thing to be laid up to his discredit except as the jealousy and suspicion of other powers might prompt them to impute sinister motives to him. Rus¬sia was a neighboring and friendly power and one well able to put the Korean army in shape for effective work. If he so proposed, which is a matter of mere surmise it shows no lack of solicitude for Korea's welfare. It merely shows that he [page252] was unaware of a deep-seated though seldom expressed sus¬picion on the part of Koreans in regard to Russia's methods and intentions.

Even if we take the fact of von Mollendorff's decoration by the Russian Government as an indication that he favored a certain degree of Russian influence in Korea it is easy to find reasons for it which redound to his credit. Japan had taken a leading part in the opening of Korea and China may well have feared that Japanese influence would become paramount in the peninsula. What other influence than that of Russia could have been appealed to in order to offset that of Japan and effect an equilibrium that would insure the continuity of Korean institutions? Only a few years had passed since Japan had witnessed a sanguinary rebellion whose fundamental reason was the hesitation of the Japanese Govern¬ment to make war upon Korea. This indicated a strong desire on the part of a numerous party in Japan to go to extremities in the peninsula. Under these circumstances no reasonable man can deny that the introduction of a modicum of Russian influence would be directly in the interests of China. At least such an explanation can he given of von Mollendorff`s attitude, and it should set at rest any unworthy suspicion of his having been in any way untrue to the best interests of Korea. But when we consider the Korean attitude toward Russia and the influences that might be brought to bear upon Peking to thwart von Mollendorff`s plans it is not surprising that his position became untenable and that on Sept. 4th, 1885 he was relieved of the position of Chief Commissioner of Customs, his place being filled by another member of the Chinese Custom's staff, H. F. Merrill, Esq.

Such is a brief and inadequate account of Baron von Mollendorff`s work in Korea. That much of that work was highly beneficial to Korea is as true as that the extremely broad field he endeavored to cover made it impossible to achieve success in every part.